A couple of weeks ago, on Jan. 7, the New York Times printed an article called 'Land of the Free, Home of the Fat' by Michiko Kakutani, a review of the new book 'Fat Land' by Greg Critser. Americans are getting fatter and fatter, supported by 'supersize meals', and 'easy fit' or 'baggy fit' jeans. A few numbers: Fast food supersize meals can weigh up to four pounds (!), supersize sodas are five times larger than a standard can. A serving of McDonald's French fries increased from 200 kcal (1960) to 320 kcal (late 1970's) to 450 kcal (mid-1990's) to 540 kcal (late 1990's) to now 610 kcal! More than three fold! The Department of Agriculture reported that between 1977 and 1995, the average individual caloric intake increased by almost 200 calories a day. It is not surprising that as a consequence 61 percent of Americans are 'overweight enough to begin experiencing health problems as a direct result of that weight.' '25 percent of all Americans under age 19 are overweight or obese' (doubled in the last 30 years). Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, along with associated liver, eye and coronary artery disease. Cheap ingredients like high-fructose corn sirup and the highly saturated palm oil get part of the blame, and low cost mega portions at fast food restaurants are simply too tempting to resist. It is often a matter of eating habits, education about what types of food are good for us, and last but not least discipline. So what about the fitness and gym boom? Unfortunately this is only a small fraction of people, mostly from the upper and middle classes; the real problem though lies in the classes below.